Galactic Threat - Tales and Beyond: The Bad Blood of Illium
by Cosmic Sword11
Summary: The first chapter in Tales and Beyond, a series of short stories set in the continuity of the Galactic Threat crossover saga. When a murderous Bad Blood ravages Illium's capital city of Nos Astra, Asari Justicar Samara must team up with an Enforcer Yautja to stop the disgraceful warrior before he kills any more innocent Asari souls and steals their skulls.


Author's note: Hey everyone, sorry I got this fanfic published 2 days late. I made the big mistake of scheduling this on Christmas and boy, I can tell you is to never promise your fanfiction audience no matter how big or small it is that they will get a new story to read by a deadline like that; especially if you have family-related plans that day because it's just not going to happen realistically. Nevertheless, I have the new fanfiction here you guys and I hope you enjoy it. Better late than never, I guess? I promise that I won't make a deadline for the next chapter for Predator and Prey or any other chapters to Tales and Beyond. Anyway, this fanfic is supposed to be a series of short stories that are part of the Galactic Threat crossover saga with our first story called "The Bad Blood of Illium" being a crossover between Alien vs Predator and Mass Effect. More updates in the future with other unique stories to tell that are set in the same continuity and Predator and Prey.

* * *

The Bad Blood of Illium:

" _All men have crimes, and most of them are hidden." – Anonymous_

The city of Nos Astra; capital of the Asari colony world of Illium went by many names such as the city that never sleeps.

Though it may have appeared to be beautiful, gleaming city paved in streets of gold; the reality was that it was a crime-ridden hellhole on par with the space station Omega. However, unlike the lawless gangland that was Omega; Nos Astra was enforced by a strong police force with the most rare and prestigious form of law enforcement that the Asari government had to offer.

These were none other than the Justicars themselves. Asari Justicars were a class that was deemed nearly untouchable by the hands of the average Asari and they alone have managed to shut down several criminal rings operating on the soil of Nos Astra; both from Asari and non-Asari alike. They were trained for extreme strength, biotic capability, resourcefulness, asceticism, and ruthlessness; making them one of the most deadly types of law enforcement anywhere in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Even with a refined and sophisticated culture like the Asari; organised crime still remained as a significant threat. This was because of Illium's controversial decision to legalize just about every type of crime with the exception of any crimes related to murder or assault. This allowed the colony world to pursue the production of weapons and pharmaceuticals that would have been deemed illegal virtually everywhere else in Citadel Alliance controlled space. Illium was also one of the only reported planets in the Milky Way in which slavery was still considered legal; with strict ethics preventing abuse to indentured servants.

The Asari government controlling Illium claimed that its provision of security would help lower crime rates; but that had yet to happen. Because of the inexplicable practices on this Asari colony, tourism was not its high point and the sole reason for visitors travelling to Illium was primarily for bureaucracy. Nevertheless, the Asari Justicars continued to operate extensively in Asari territory and take down gangs of organized crime plaguing the name of this Asari colony. Justice needed to be served and upheld; with these dedicated Asari law enforcers ready to strike down whatever evil was lurking within the darkest shadows on the streets of Nos Astra, a guaranteed sentence would be death.

One such Asari Justicar was Samara, an 800-year old who was immensely strict in following the code of honor in which she swore her life upon.

One could be foolishly blinded by her beauty as an Asari, but the truth was that she was a determined law enforcer who would go to extreme lengths to serve justice in the name of the ancient monastic order of the Asari Justicars. Though many Asari Justicars rarely leave the Asari home world of Thessia; Samara was of course a notable exception. Her pursuit for righteousness in the name of morality drove her to the most controversial and crime-ridden Asari colony world.

She found herself hunting down deadly gangs of thugs on a weekly basis, possibly even killing one or two a day if she was lucky. While she abided by the ancient code of conduct of which Asari Justicars stood by for ages; Samara found the choices made by Illium's government to legalize various crimes that would have been considered illegal just about anywhere else in Alliance controlled space to be extremely reckless and without proper thought beforehand. She knew as a law enforcer of the highest degree that there would always be individuals who would turn to lives of crime for differing reasons; but chose not to be sympathetic to those who were cruel enough to spill the blood of the innocent.

Samara's job was to fight crime, not to commiserate it. This was easier said than done considering how her third daughter Morinth whom she described as being "smart and brave" refused to go into seclusion like her two sisters; Falere and Rila, and thus resorted to a life of murder and violence. All 3 of Samara's daughters were Ardat-Yakshi and there was no known cure for this ailment that Morinth suffered from. She used it to her advantage and went on a killing spree on Omega where she would lure young individuals of many species who were reportedly talented in the arts with her seductive charm before killing them during the mind-melding phase of Asari intercourse.

This was why Samara gave up her worldly possessions and swore an oath to the code of the Asari Justicars, hoping that she could redeem herself for the demon of which her third daughter had become. What the Samara never imaged though was that she would from a bond between her and another law enforcer of another species and culture slaughtering innocent lives on the soil of Nos Astra, but this did indeed happen.

This is the tale of how a noble Asari Justicar teamed up with an Enforcer Yautja on the mission to hunt down a Bad Blood in the city of Nos Astra on Illium.

* * *

Nos Astra surely did live up to the title it was given as "the city that never sleeps" with thousands of lights shining across the city even with thousands of souls resting for the night. Throughout the hundreds of vehicles on the freeway and people down in the marketplace open all day and night, there lurked an entity of pure evil and malevolence of which none could see with the naked eye.

Standing on a towering skyscraper in the dark night concealed by his active camouflage, the Bad Blood Yautja observed the many potential targets he could select for his next kill. As he was a wanted fugitive on the run from the Enforcer Yautja traveling far and wide to sentence him to death for his transgressions against the sacred Yautja Honor Code, he was not limited to armed and dangerous individuals who could be considered a threat; free to spill the blood of anyone he desired to murder.

This Asari-governed city of Nos Astra, it was undeniably large; a beautiful metropolis with dark cracks hiding secrets just about as sinister as the wicked thoughts of this Bad Blood Yautja. So he would have plenty of freedom to choose his next victim of choice, should he not be spotted by the Nos Astra law enforcement that was.

He knew about the power that Asari Justicars held onto, making them one of the deadliest types of their species right up there with the Asari Commandos in their military. It was best for him to avoid them at all cost and earn his pleasure of a kill with an illegal skull trophy to boast, and that is exactly what the Bad Blood Yautja thought. He then walked over to the side of the rooftop of the skyscraper of which he was standing atop of and began to slowly climb down the side, stealthily hidden away from his active camouflage.

Not a single pair of eyes could see him and he knew who his first target on this killing spree on the grounds of Nos Astra was going to be. He continued to climb down the side of the building until he was met with his feet touching a balcony. The Bad Blood looked around and saw that he was standing on what appeared to be an apartment block; which his prey of choice.

It was an Asari standing obliviously on a nearby balcony as she starred off into the gleaming city of lights. He clicked his mandibles hidden behind the bio-mask on his face and unsheathed his Wrist Blades from the gauntlet. He was going to add a fine Asari skull to the list of many other illegal kill trophies he had claimed over the years as a Bad Blood running amok, and this lone Asari had no idea of her impending doom.

She just stood there, gazing at the site of Illium's capital city and taking in the beauty of witnessing a spectacle of magnificence that showed what the city that never sleeps had to offer in the night. Moving to this colony world was a risk, as many of her colleagues told her that Nos Astra was riddled with crime because of the Illium government's scandalous choices to legalize many offences; but she chose to ignore their warnings of the city's deceiving nature under the spell of the city's alluring beauty.

So far, she had not experienced or even witnessed any crime take place that wasn't shown on the news feed on her television screen during her short time living on Illium; so this Asari had the impression that perhaps she was right and her colleagues were wrong about the crime afflicting Nos Astra.

That was until she heard a deeply unsettling noise behind her. Whatever it was, it sounded like some sort of demented clicking. The Asari turned around and was met with a Bad Blood Yautja as he deactivated the cloaking; revealing the hulking, monstrous figure standing before her. Words could not describe how frightened she had become with the sight of a Yautja ready to kill her and no way for her to defend herself from this bloodthirsty brute. As the Bad Blood Yautja raised his Wrist Blades into the air, all the helpless unarmed Asari could do was scream in fear; knowing that her fate had been sealed by this ruthless killer.

He then repeatedly stabbed her multiple times with his Wrist Blades; each time drawing up more and more of the Asari's purple blood. The Bad Blood Yautja had also grabbed the defenceless Asari by the neck and was squeezing it so tight that he was practically suffocating her. It was almost as if he was determined the make her death as agonizing and painful as physically possible. With the blades puncturing her flesh and tearing through her entrails, the Asari was losing blood rapidly and she soon succumbed to death within less than a minute of screaming in pain after witnessing the Bad Blood Yautja hunter.

The Bad Blood then began to cut through the flesh and bones of the now deceased Asari; as he was ready to claim his forbidden prize for slaughtering her for his own sick pleasure. That prize being of course, her skull. He tore through the blood, muscles and organs with a dagger to remove the Asari's skull and add it to his growing collection of illegal hunting trophies of which he kept aboard his own private ship; doing so very delicately as not to obstruct the skull itself. Having already killed many of her own kind before on other planets, he was able to remove the skull from the Asari corpse in very little time.

The Bad Blood then raised the bloody skull with its spinal cord still attached, praising himself in the easy victory of this lawless hunt against the innocent before throwing the lifeless body of the Asari corpse off the balcony, only for it to land in the square down below.

In the marketplace below the apartment block, hundreds of people went about their business. This ranged from people of all races within the Citadel Alliance as well as others who were not; including Asari, Turians, Salarians, Quarians and even some Volus as well. They all just carried on with their lives; either selling or buying from various venders across the marketplace.

Everything was going well, until the loud noise of a corpse crashing down in the middle of the marketplace was heard by the crowd.

Screams of pure horror filled the crowds as a bloody Asari corpse laid on the ground before them with some of its bones torn out and entrails exposed for all to see. Many turned to run away in terror while others could only stare at the horrifying sight before their very eyes. Everything was captured by security cameras due to the state of constant surveillance enforced by the police within the city as an attempt to reduce crime rates; ensuring that it would be no time at all before the police would respond to the scene of the crime.

Within minutes, a team of police officers at arrived at the scene at the marketplace and sealed it off with holographic yellow tape. At first it seemed like this would be any normal case for the authorities to handle, but this one in particular was a string in a series of murders that seemed to be nearly identical to this Asari. What this case would require to be solved wasn't just an ordinary police officer but instead the strongest and most dedicated of all law enforcement officers from within the Citadel Alliance; Asari Justicars.

The Justicar who would be solving this crime case was known as Samara.

* * *

As Samara arrived at the crime scene, she could see that a crowd had formed up around the yellow tape of the police line sealing the public away from the section where the corpse of this innocent Asari had reportedly been found. She walked ahead and passed through the crowd with ease, as they all made way for her because of her position as a Justicar; which was a rare and widely respected position that an Asari could possibly achieve in life. The police officers guarding the said crime scene saluted Samara as she walked through the holographic yellow tape of the crime scene. Once Samara was inside the barrier created by the yellow tape, she was met with one of the police captains of this specific district of Nos Astra; Kira D'ado. She was standing near the corpse of the deceased Asari with a data pad in her hands. Kira also saluted to Justicar Samara once she had noticed her presence on the crime scene.

"Justicar Samara, it's good to see you. We have yet another case of another innocent Asari murdered. According to this DNA test; her name was Jaun Maburo." Stated Kira, informing the Justicar about what this crime scene was all about.

"How many Asari have been murdered, Captain?" Questioned Samara, curious to know just how severe the threat level was of this given murderer.

"According to this latest police report; we have documented 8 killings of Asari in the manner of Jaun here throughout the past 3 days." Kira explained to Samara; highlighting just how serious the threat of this mysterious killer had become in such a short amount of time.

"And I wasn't informed about this until now?!" She raised her voice at the police captain, angry at how innocent souls were slaughtered without her notice beforehand to possibly prevent them from falling victim to this vicious killer.

"We weren't sure if this would be a crime case serious enough for a Justicar until we found out about the murder of Jaun Maburo being added to the list of Asari who have already been murdered just like her." Kira said in defense, trying not to anger the Justicar any further.

Enraging an Asari Jusicar was by no means a smart idea given their advanced biotic advancements and fighting skill.

Samara then grabbed the data pad from out of Kira's hands and read the list of murdered Asari in this case. Noress Caleeri, Selees Rutis, Aesla Maora, Vaell Cadri, Amesmea T'zeeri, Sarava T'havo and most recently, Jaun Maburo; each of them being the name of an Asari that was brutally murdered in the exact same gruesome way within the past 3 days here in Nos Astra. Samara then looked at the corpse of Jaun laid out on the ground where her body had landed smack in the middle of the marketplace.

The sight was beyond gruesome and appalling; as it was soaked in its own purple coloured blood with Jaun's entrails dragged out from gashes that Samara knew were from some kind of knife or perhaps another type of bladed weapon. But what Samara found most disturbing about the murder of Jaun Maburo was that something very noticeable had been removed from her body. The skull and spinal cord both appeared to be missing. She knew that there was only one species in the Milky Way Galaxy that would do something this repulsive; and that was of course the Yautja.

"The doings of a Bad Blood Yautja no doubt." Samara muttered under her breath.

Kira knew she heard the Justicar say something, but whatever it was she just said was unclear to her.

"What was that, Justicar?" Questioned Kira, wondering if it was something related to the ancient Justicar code that Samara had just said in a faint voice.

"I believe I know what our murderer is." She stated in reply as she handed the data pad back to Captain D'ado.

"And what exactly do we need to keep an eye out for? A crazed Vorcha high off his ass under the influence of Red Sand?" Kira asked once again, this time concerned about the threat level of the given suspect.

She mentioned Vorcha and Red Sand because of how many organized crime syndicates within Illium contained Vorcha within their ranks and one of the most commonly produced drugs banned virtually everywhere else in Alliance controlled space due to its violent effect on whoever was to take it. Red Sand gave its users intense euphoria, short term telekinetic biotic abilities along with red tinted vision and it was also extremely addictive. It was like cocaine on crystal meth; which obviously wouldn't have made for a good combination with a crazy Vorcha.

Samara however knew that this wasn't the case, as a Vorcha normally wouldn't rip out someone's spinal column and skull; even after taking a deadly dose of Red Sand.

"No, something far more sinister. A Bad Blood Yautja." Stated Samara.

"A Yautja? You've got to be kidding me. Why would a Yautja slaughter these Asari? They were all innocent people!" Kira was not in belief that one of their kind would go on a killing spree like this because of how they supposedly held concepts like honor in very high regard.

Not to mention that committing acts like this would be direct violations of their species' sacred code of honor; which was actually quite similar to the ancient Asari Justicar code in many ways. This only mystified Kira as she didn't have extensive knowledge on anything Yautja related.

"Not just any type of Yautja, Captain. This is a Bad Blood, a wanted fugitive on the run committing acts prohibited by their culture's Honor Code." Explained Samara. Kira then realized what the Justicar was trying to say.

The threat was imminent because of how strong Yautja were and this Bad Blood could be anywhere within the city of Nos Astra hidden away by his active camouflage hiding him away from all eyes, thus making him no easy catch for even an Asari Justicar to take on alone.

That was when Samara looked up and noticed a strange figure that was using active camouflage, which only could've meant a Yautja looked down at the crime scene from up on a balcony from the above apartment block. She instinctively reached for her pistol, pointed it at the Yautja and then fired a shot at him. The shot apparently hit right between the armor of the cloaked Yautja, causing him to clench at the bullet wound and in turn lose his balance on the balcony's edge; falling down into the crime scene.

He fell from a height significantly less than Jaun Maburo when her corpse was tossed over the edge by her killer, though it was still tall enough for him to land on the ground with loud thud. The crowd of people surrounding the crime scene held back by the guards and the yellow holographic tape suddenly jolted back at the sound of the gunshot and the cloaked Yautja landing on the ground with a thump. Almost immediately after he met the ground, the Yautja roared in pain. This caused the guards to turn around and point their rifles towards the crime scene.

Under the impression that she had just found the true murderer of these 8 innocent Asari, Samara clamped her foot down on the throat of the Yautja on the ground; where she could easily break his neck in just one simple motion.

"There's nowhere to run, Bad Blood. I'll personally slaughter you for the innocent Asari lives that you have claimed." Samara taunted the still cloaked Yautja as the heel of her foot started to suffocate the Yautja underneath her.

Suddenly, the Yautja's active camouflage deactivated, revealing himself to the Justicar and everyone else in the surrounding area. This appeared to be no ordinary Yautja, as this one wore armor of a different design than most others; with the bio-mask standing out the most. It was gold coloured while normal Yautja bio-masks were silver plus this one featured a 3 part crest with some unknown Yautja symbol inscribed onto it.

The Yautja then clicked it's mandibles before it spoke to Samara.

"Who do you think you're calling a Bad Blood?"

A look surprise caught Samara as she realized that this Yautja was no Bad Blood at all. This Yautja was an Enforcer; one who was tasked with hunting down disgraceful Yautja who had broken their species' scared Honor Code and he was most likely here to hunt down the Bad Blood who had been wreaking havoc among the streets of Nos Astra.

Samara released her grip on the Enforcer Yautja once she realized that she had made a grave mistake.

She attacked another law enforcer without realizing it; though to be fair, he was still cloaked in active camouflage so Samara couldn't tell anyway. Now knowing that this specific Yautja was not the culprit to this recent series of Asari murders on Nos Astra, she signaled the officers behind the yellow tape to lower their weapons. They responded and lowered their guns just as told without question, as these officers knew it was best just to follow the word of a Justicar considering the powers they possessed.

"Justicar, what are you doing?" Questioned Kira, confused with her actions as she did not understand Yautja culture very well and had no idea what position this particular Yautja held.

"Acquiring a new set of hands for this case." She replied, bleakly.

The Enforcer Yautja stood up, clenching the wound where Samara had shot him in the cracks between his armor as some of his lime-green blood started to spill out.

"I apologize for that, I mistook you for a Bad Blood. There's been a series of murders involving innocent Asari going on within this city and our sources believe that a Bad Blood Yautja might be the perpetrator." Stated Samara, expressing regret towards the Enforcer Yautja for attacking him.

"I'm well aware of what's been going on here, Asari. I have to say though; you are an exceptional warrior. Not many people can land a shot on me from that distance while I'm cloaked. That is very impressive." Replied the Enforcer Yautja, complementing Samara's abilities to her surprise. This wasn't the kind of response which Samara thought she would be warranting considering how she outright shot him, yet she welcomed it anyway.

"Flattered, but I can see that you're bleeding. I can spare you some of my medi-gel if that's alright with you." Said Samara, bringing up her omni-tool to donate a dose of her medi-gel to the Enforcer Yautja upon his request.

"Thank you, Asari. That would be much appreciated." Said the Enforcer Yautja, accepting Samara's generous offer of medi-gel to heal his bullet wound.

Thanks to the healing magic of medi-gel, the Enforcer Yautja's wound was sealed up and sustained for the time being.

"My name is Samara. I am an Asari Justicar, the most powerful form of my species' law enforcement." She introduced herself to the Enforcer Yautja, hoping to gain his respect and have him as an ally in their hunt against a common enemy lurking inside this very city.

"I am Slade, Enforcer Yautja of the Grand Sword clan." Stated the Enforcer Yautja, following Samara's actions of becoming acquainted with him.

"I have vital data that could potentially aid us on our hunt against this Bad Blood running rampant spilling innocent Asari blood across Nos Astra." Explained Slade.

"If that's the case, then we must return to the station to discuss the terms of action." Acknowledged Samara, now eager to know more about this supposed Bad Blood wreaking havoc across Nos Astra's city streets.

She ordered Captain Kira D'ado to call in the crime scene cleanup team to take care of Jaun Maburo 's corpse and polish up the area where her lifeless body had been discovered by the public as she and Slade stepped into a transport which soon took off back to the Nos Astra police station to which Samara was stationed at, Justice Estate.

* * *

On the way to the police station inside the transport, Samara couldn't help but wonder what that symbol engraved on Slade's bio-mask was. She had seen Yautja before, but none of them ever had this mysterious emblem to bear; making it all the more mysterious to her. As the traffic pulled to a stop at a red light and Samara applied the brake, she broke the silence between her and the Enforcer Yautja.

"I noticed that symbol on your bio-mask. I've never seen any other Yautja bear such an insignia. What does it mean?" Samara questioned Slade. The Enforcer Yautja clicked his mandibles before replying.

"It is the mark of the Enforcer Yautja code. We Enforcer Yautja do not have the privilege to hunt for sport like most of my people do; but instead we are tasked with upholding the righteousness and purity of the sacred Honor Code. That involves hunting down rogue Yautja like Bad Blood killing your kind in this very city." Explained Slade, revealing the truth behind this strange emblem that stood manifested on his peculiarly designed Yautja bio-mask.

Samara knew that Yautja were a species that prided themselves on hunting down dangerous life forms for sport and that their culture was based on a hunting ideology crafted by a citation of guidelines of which the Yautja peoples regarded as sacred. However, she had no idea what life was like for the Enforcers of their kind. Obviously someone had to ensure that justice was upheld within society, but prohibiting them from experiencing the glory of what their culture stood for was quite surprising to her. Samara could relate since the ancient Asari Justicar code forbid certain acts which were perfectly acceptable for normal Asari to do, such as having the privilege to own worldly possessions and to pursue an interest in a mate; both of which Samara had done in her life before choosing to become a Justicar once she learned that her third daughter Morinth had become a murderer using her genetic disorder as an Ardat-Yakshi to her advantage.

That soon brought the question to whether or not Slade had made the choice to become an Enforcer Yautja or if he was born into it to Samara's mind.

"Did you make the choice to become an Enforcer Yautja, Slade? Or was this something that you were forced into because of your clan?" She asked Slade with curiosity.

"My bloodline is the Grand Sword clan, a kin of Yautja who are trained to become Enforcers from the very moments we learn to walk. I did not have the choice to become an Enforcer, so I followed in my father's footsteps as an Enforcer of the Yautja Honor Code." Replied Slade.

"What about you, Samara?" He was apparently equally as interested about Samara's position as an Asari Justicar as she was about Slade being an Enforcer Yautja. The red light of the traffic light switched to green and the transports continued to make their journeys all across the city of Nos Astra, including this business regarding justice of the peace. Samara hit the gas on the transport and it drove back in line with the rest of traffic out that night.

She knew that she just had to come clean with this Enforcer Yautja, so Samara took in a deep breath and sighed before explaining the truth to him.

"I made the choice to become an Asari Justicar after I discovered what monster my third daughter Morinth had turned into. She is an Ardat-Yakshi and most likely still out there seducing her next victim before she kills him or her." Stated Samara. Slade was confused, as he did not understand what Samara had meant by the term "Ardat-Yakshi"; but he understood what she was getting at.

"I believe my translator has malfunctioned, I didn't pick up whatever Ardat-Yakshi meant. Could you please explain to me what that means?" Requested Slade.

"An Ardat-Yakshi is an Asari with a genetic disorder in which they will kill their mate during the mind-melding process during Asari intercourse. All 3 of my daughters were born with this incurable disease and Morinth refused to go into hiding like her 2 sisters did. She opted to become a serial killer using her disorder as an advantage." Explained Samara, clarifying to Slade what exactly an Ardat-Yakshi was.

Samara frowned. She never thought about Morinth in recent memory until now that Slade had brought up the question of why she even bothered to join a noble cause like the Asari Justicars.

"I've been a terrible mother. How could I have raised a twisted psycho killer as my own child?" Questioned Samara in saddening tone to her voice.

Slade looked over to her, under the impression that she was still emotionally hurt by this betrayal of her own daughter and her descent into a life of crime. She wasn't quite grieving, but it still seemed to deeply upset her.

"I'm deeply sorry to hear that; but don't blame yourself, Samara. There will always be those who are purely evil and will commit atrocious acts to please their sick desires because no society can be perfect; not even us Yautja are safe from this. Why do you think Enforcers like my clan exist?" Stated Slade in response, trying to convince Samara that the betrayal of her daughter Morinth wasn't entirely her fault.

"But, I was certain that she was my perfect angel back then. How could I have been blind enough to miss it?" Samara questioned herself once again.

"Sometimes evil is hard to see, Samara. You never know where it could strike and even your own family could betray you. It's one of many things we are taught as Enforcer Yautja." Slade said in response.

She thought about his words; both in a figurative and literal sense. Samara couldn't have known that Morinth would become a murderous psychopath when she had first received the news that all of her children were diagnosed as Ardat-Yakshi. Also, the Bad Blood currently roaming across Nos Astra slaughtering innocent Asari; it used active camouflage to hide itself from the thousands of eyes within this very city.

What Slade said were indeed wise words and it was something that Samara could not deny; especially since they came from another law enforcer just like her.

* * *

As the transport arrived at Justice Estate; the police station to which Samara was posted, several of the guards at the station turned their heads to see the familiar Asari Justicar being followed by a Yautja of all things. They were of course surprised to see such a sight; as one of the guards, a Turian raised his rifle at the Enforcer Yautja, not knowing his status or that he would be assisting Justicar Samara. She noticed his action right away, ordering him to stand down at once.

"At ease, Corporal. He's here to help us." Samara stated as she and Slade continued to walk into the police station entrance.

The Turian just gave the Enforcer Yautja a confused look, unsure of what use one of his kind would be with the recent news about a serial killer murdering innocent Asari and taking their skulls. Inside the Justice Estate police station, the two were met with looks of awe from fellow officers working. Asari Justicars were often fantasied about due to how immensely powerful and few in numbers they were and the sight of one of them with an Enforcer Yautja was by no doubt a rare sight that one would only see once in a lifetime. One such was Sergeant Maeus Gorcius; one of the Turian officers working at the station. He approached the Asari Justicar hoping to discover what she had found out at the crime scene.

"Justicar Samara, I see you have returned. Who exactly is this Yautja? Please don't tell me he was the one killing all of those Asari." Questioned Sergeant Gorcius.

"I am not the murderer you are seeking, Turian. I am an Enforcer Yautja and my mission here is to find the Bad Blood responsible for these killings and avenge them." Stated Slade, unimpressed at how a Turian would mistake him as a slayer.

"Slade here is an Enforcer Yautja. He says that he has data about this so called 'Bad Blood' out there killing those Asari, Sergeant." Explained Samara, correcting Sergeant Gorcius on where exactly he went wrong with his predictions about Slade and that he could help aid them in cracking this case. Either way, the Turian seemed impressed.

"Excellent. Up until now, we've had little to no evidence to who the potential killer could be." Said Sergeant Gorcius, eager to know who the perpetrator was and how they would plan on catching him.

"Then I guess we shall review this data immediately." Stated Slade, typing in a combination of buttons on the keypad of his wrist computer console. A holographic display was then projected from the Enforcer Yautja's wrist computer console, showing the face of a Yautja along with lots of text that neither Samara nor Sergeant Gorcius could read since it was inscribed in the Yautja's language. Nevertheless, it still intrigued them both.

"Our killer is a Bad Blood Yautja named Venom. He's part of a clan of Bad Bloods known as the Forsaken Blades clan. They are extremely dangerous and Venom here should be no exception. If we do not stop him now, it is possible that he might call in the rest of his brethren and your Bad Blood issue could be multiplied by 10." Slade went on, explaining who the Bad Blood Yautja roaming across Nos Astra was and the potential risk that he would bring his entire clan to Nos Astra; causing rampant chaos in a city where crime and questionable legalizations had already made it infamous by name.

"Well how do you intend on stopping Venom then, Slade? Can't we just track down his exact location and then go after him?" Questioned Sergeant Gorcius.

"No, I'm afraid it's not that simple. Using your wrist console to track another Yautja as a target is considered a crime since it associated with attempting to murder, which the Honor Code prohibits." Stated Slade.

"Shit. You got any ideas, Justicar?" Asked Sergeant Gorcius, turning to her for help. She was silent for a bit, trying to come up with a solution for all this. Solving this case clearly was not going to be an easy task for any one of these law enforcement officers, even for Justicar Samara.

"That bio-mask you're wearing, Slade…what makes it different than standard Yautja bio-masks, aside from its design that is?" Questioned Samara, believing that she may just have found the key to stopping Venom's wrathful trail of bloody carnage across Nos Astra's city streets.

"What makes my bio-mask different?" Asked Slade, surprised that Samara would even ask him this kind of question after only knowing each other for such a short time. She nodded in response.

"Well, it has the same features of a regular Yautja bio-mask, providing us with thermal heat vision as well as night vision; but it also has the ability to detect other Yautja within our field of view." Explained Slade. This gave Samara a sense of hope that they could take down this Bad Blood before he could possibly kill any more Asari in this city. Sergeant Gorcius however was confused.

"So they prohibit you from using that wrist computer of yours to track down other Yautja; even if it is a Bad Blood, but that fancy bio-mask has the ability to see Yautja life forms only a specific setting? What kind of sense does that make?" Questioned Sergeant Gorcius, querying on why this law even existed in Yautja culture.

"These bio-masks are designed especially for Enforcer Yautja and our job is to hunt down disgraceful Yautja like Venom, so we have a reason to possess such technology." Said Slade in his defence.

"If we can use your bio-mask to track him down, we can catch him in the act before he slaughters anyone else." Samara stated, suggesting a way to find the whereabouts of Venom.

"I'll personally kill Venom myself, Samara. Any Bad Blood Yautja shall receive his punishment at the hands of an Enforcer Yautja like me." Slade said with sheer determination in his voice, unsheathing his wrist blades. He knew that Bad Bloods were the sinners of the Yautja people and they must be exterminated before they would stride to kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent lives regardless of their species. Samara however, did not agree with him.

"No, we shall both kill him. He's a common enemy on this ground and he is slaughtering the lives of Asari like me. They may not be Justicars or even regular police officers, but they are still virtuous Asari who must not have their blood spilled by a crazed lunatic like Venom." Said Samara, standing up for herself in the name of justice and the ways of the ancient Asari Justicar code. Sergeant Gorcius looked at Slade, informing him with some important guidance about Asari Justicars.

"Listen to her, Slade. It'd be foolish to not follow the words of a Justicar. Trust me; I've worked with her for years here at Justice Estate to know so."

Slade took in these words from the Turian, as he suspected that as a colleague of Samara at Justice Estate; he was familiar with her Justicar ways of life. She had already proven to him that she was a skilled warrior and more than capable of taking on another Yautja in a fight, so perhaps she did stand a chance against Venom. After all, both of them were law enforcement agents following strict codes of justice and honor.

"I accept your word, Samara. We shall start searching for Venom's current whereabouts within Nos Astra and both of us will kill this disgraceful psychopath." Said Slade in response.

He tried to place his hand on Samara's shoulder as a sign of respect, but Samara's quick reflexes kicked in and she raised her blade up against him. The blade itself was similar in design to the type of sword that was commonly used by Asari Commandos, but had ancient Asari Justicar scriptures inscribed onto it.

"Don't touch me." Said Samara in a very strict and clear tone. She did not understand what this token action was supposed to mean and hated it when people tried to place their hands upon her, justifying Samara's reflex actions.

"I was just trying to express my trust in you, Samara. It's a common gesture among my people." Stated Slade in response.

"You've already said so yourself. Trying to touch me on the shoulder isn't going to convince me otherwise. But I do trust you, Slade. You may be the only shot we have on taking down this Bad Blood in our territory before he causes any more chaos on Nos Astra's streets." Samara defended in her own words.

She knew that Slade could be trusted and his duty as an Enforcer Yautja was to police the sacred Yautja Honor Code, so he made the perfect comrade on this quest to hunt down the disgraceful hunter known as Venom. Slade acknowledged this, knowing that he had to trust this Asari Justicar if the two of them were determined to kill this Bad Blood before he dared strive to slaughter another innocent Asari soul.

"Then let us go. Venom must be stopped, no matter the cost." Said Slade, proud and determined to end Venom's trail of death and carnage on Nos Astra for good. Samara nodded, following the Enforcer Yautja out of the building.

* * *

Once the two of them stood outside, Slade switched on the feature of his bio-mask which allowed him to specifically see other Yautja life signals within his field of view. This mode made his POV a tinted red colour where any Yautja detected would be seen as green whenever detected. It was even capable of detecting Yautja who were cloaked since it based the signals based off their given heat signatures. He looked around, so far finding nothing in his field of view.

"Do you see anything?" Asked Samara.

"No, nothing yet at least." Replied Slade. Suddenly, he saw what appeared to be a flash of green pop up in his line of sight. It matched a Yautja heat signature, so it naturally had to be their target.

"I've found our Bad Blood; he's on the rooftop of that building!" Shouted Slade, pointing towards the building of which he saw the faint signal of another Yautja.

It was a tall skyscraper, one of many within Nos Astra. Slade then fired a shot from his Plasma Caster at the Yautja on top of the building. The Shot missed, landing on the roof near where Venom stood. He then eyed the Enforcer Yautja with pure rage; though it could not be easily seen from the distance between where he and the two law enforcers stood. Unsheathing his Wrist Blades, he clicked his mandibles uttering something in his native language before slowly backing himself up.

"What is he doing, Slade?" Questioned Samara worriedly.

"I don't know, Samara. Bad Bloods can be very unpredictable sometimes." Replied Slade, firing another shot from his Plasma Caster. Like his previous shot, he missed yet again.

"Cjit, I think the targeting system must be off." Slade said to himself as he started to type into the console on his wrist computer.

Samara glanced back at Slade after he missed the second shot from his Plasma Caster and looked back at the Bad Blood in the distance, only to see him running at top speed, charging right at them both. She watched as Venom made a great leap of faith, jumping from one skyscraper to another across Nos Astra's skyline. Using her telekinetic biotic abilities as an Asari Justicar, Samara grabbed the Bad Blood and swung him into the wall of the nearby building, cracking it in the process. Venom roared in pain as he collapsed to the ground. He stood back up as he eyed the Asari Justicar in his line of sight with pure rage, determined to make her the next addition in his collection of illegal kill trophies claimed right here on Illium.

With his Wrist Blades unsheathed, Venom charged at Samara; swinging the bladed weapons directly at her. She quickly whipped out her Asari Justicar sword and blocked his attack with the loud clashing noise of metal against metal. Samara grabbed her pistol and fired an entire magazine's worth of ammunition against the Bad Blood's bio-mask; severely denting it in the process. The loud irritating sound and blurring of his vision was enough to knock Venom back. Venom then brought his claws up to his head as he removed the damaged bio-mask from his face, revealing the true hideous monster that was concealed within. Even for a Yautja, this Bad Blood looked especially repugnant in Samara's eyes.

"No wonder you keep yourself hidden behind that mask, because I would do the same with a face like that." Said Samara, taunting the Bad Blood.

This seemed to enrage Venom as he spread his mandibles open wide and slashed at her with his Wrist Blades once again upon hearing Samara's jeer at the Bad Blood. Samara blocked his attacks again with her sword thanks to her quick reflexes; however she became reckless and underestimated Venom's true strength. Using her biotic abilities once again, she grabbed a hold of Venom and kept him suspended in midair with her blade ready to finish him off. What she didn't take into consideration was the Plasma Caster of which Venom was armed with, which he used to fire a shot at Samara.

The shot hit Samara directly on her torso with a deadly scorch, causing her to lose her bearings and focus on biotic abilities. She clenched the burn on her body which had managed to incinerate a hole in her clothing, feeling just how agonizing taking a direct hit from a Yautja plasma caster could be. If done precisely, a Plasma Caster shot could actually tear off someone's limb. That was when a bunch of fellow officers from Justice Estate ran outside with weapons in their hands and surrounded Venom as he tried to corner Samara.

"Freeze!" The voice of Sergeant Gorcius barked at the Bad Blood with his associates pointing their guns directly at him, ready to fire at a given command.

"Just…shoot him." Said Samara, struggling to ease the pain she was experiencing. At that very moment Venom heard the Asari Justicar give out the order to these police officers to fire upon him, he activated his cloaking and went imperceptible to the naked eye. This caused the police officers to step back and lower their guns out of confusion; unsure what to do with a perpetrator who had the ability to become concealed.

"He's gone invisible, stay alert!" Sergeant Gorcius called out to his fellow officers as they all looked around, desperate to find some kind of shimmer to signify the presence of the cloaked Bad Blood Yautja. A sense of fear began to dwell over all of the police officers as each second of time went by with Venom concealed by their eyes; reminding them all that what they cannot see was indeed the scariest of all.

Suddenly, one of the Asari police officers was stabbed in the back of her head; with the blades puncturing her skull and coming out the other side where her eye sockets once stood. The other police officers turned around and gasped in shock at the horrifying sight of their now deceased associate; but they knew this was where the Bad Blood Yautja was hiding.

They fired a series of rounds at the cloaked Bad Blood, but Venom used the Asari corpse as a meat shield; blocking the majority of the bullets. One round however, which was fired by a Turian officer; took one of his dreadlock tendrils clean off of his head and left behind a trail of lime-green blood. This caused Venom to drop the dead Asari in his grasp and roar in pain since the fleshy tendrils on a Yautja's body were one of the most sensitive parts. He became overloaded with fury that he charged at the Turian who shot one of his tendrils clean off and slashed his Wrist Blades against the Turian's neck, slitting his throat. A look of terror filled the Turian's eyes as he gasped for the last few seconds of his life before he drowned in his own blood, collapsing dead on the scene.

Venom continued to thrash the police officers who were clearly no match for an experienced Yautja like him, as they all met their fate at his bloody hands. A sniper from the top of a nearby building tried to take a shot at him; however she missed and gained the attention of the murderous Bad Blood of Nos Astra. She fired at Venom again, directly hitting his wrist computer console; thus permanently damaging it. This angered the Bad Blood too, as he fired a blast from his Plasma Caster at the sniper, killing her as well.

All Samara could do was watch, and the pain from the plasma burn on her body was overwhelming. She desperately wanted to intervene and kill this Bad Blood right now where he stood, but that just wasn't possible at the moment. The sight of seeing this disgraceful Yautja slaughtering these police officers was no doubt a horrifying and disturbing vision to behold, yet it seemed more or less the same to the usual crime that Samara had been tasked with fighting here in Illium's capital city as an Asari Justicar. Only difference here was that she had been injured and couldn't arbitrate against Venom's sinister massacre. She just watched the Bad Blood murder these fellow law enforcement officers in such brutal and gruesome fashion.

After Venom tossed one of the police officers of the edge of the building, sending her to her untimely demise; he looked over at the wounded Asari Justicar on the ground. He clicked his mandibles and gave her a morbid glare with his eyes full and pure of madness, ready to unleash his wrath onto Samara. She reached for her gun on the ground next to her, only for Venom to shoot it with a blast from his Plasma Caster. Samara found herself cornered by the Bad Blood Yautja with his Wrist Blades out and dripping with the blood of the other officers whom he had recently killed.

She was certain that this would be how her days serving under the ancient Asari Justicar code; being gutted alive by Bad Blood Yautja with a sickening craving for Asari skulls. It was like her impending doom was going to be at the hands of a wicked mind just like her daughter Morinth.

Just then, another shot from a Yautja Plasma Caster had been fired. Not by Venom, but instead by Slade. He shot Venom, forcing him to his knees. Slade then approached the Bad Blood with two daggers in his in one of his claws. With one massive blow to the face, he had knocked Venom to the ground.

" **Your reign of terror ends now, ic'jit.** " Slade said to Venom as he forced the blade of one of the daggers into the palm of his claw, piercing thought the bone and clamping him down to the floor.

Venom roared in pain and agony as Slade did the exact same thing with the other dagger. The Bad Blood was now unable to attack and could not escape. Not even the coward's way out of taking his own life was possible since his self-destruct device had been damaged by the Asari police sniper earlier.

"Now, Samara. It is time. This Bad Blood must die in the name of Paya and the sacred Yautja Honor Code!" He called out to the injured Asari Justicar.

Samara forced herself onto her feet and unsheathed her Asari Justicar sword. She knew that Slade had done his part in their journey to end the murderous rampage across Nos Astra cause by this very Bad Blood Yautja, and now it was her turn to ensure that he would no longer walk again. Samara walked over to where Slade had restrained Venom to the ground, and glared at the Bad Blood as she raised the sword into the air above his chest.

"For all the innocent Asari lives and law enforcement officers you have claimed in this city, for betraying the sacred Honor Code of which your people live by; I shall kill you." Samara said, uttering the very last words that this Bad Blood Yautja would ever hear in his life. She then forced the blade down into Venom's heart, killing him instantly.

Samara removed the sword from the fresh Yautja corpse on the ground, dripping his lime-green blood. It was over, Venom was dead and the case had been closed. She looked back over at Slade and thought about how well the two of them managed to team up and kill this disgraceful Bad Blood Yautja slaughtering innocent Asari lives all across Nos Astra. Samara also took into consideration that thanks to the efforts of this Enforcer Yautja, she was still alive.

Had it not been for him, she would have been an addition to the many Asari and law enforcement officers slain in his homicidal rampage within this crime-infested city. For those reasons, Samara knew that she had to thank Slade for everything that he had done in only a single night. It was amazing that they managed to crack this whole case together in only one night.

"We've finally done it, the Bad Blood is dead." Slade said, beholden that his mission to hunt down Venom and kill him had been accomplished.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Slade. Thank you." Stated Samara, expressing her gratitude towards Slade's assistance on the case.

"I couldn't have stopped Venom by my own either, Samara. You are an exceptional Asari Justicar and I wish you well on your quest for justice. If you can't right the wrong that your daughter has become, then bringing righteousness to corrupted minds like Venom is the right path to tread upon." Replied Slade, who was equally as obliged to her as she was with him.

Samara took in his words for a moment. Sure, she might never stop Morinth from using her disorder as an Ardat-Yakshi to kill more souls; but she still knew that Illium was a crime ridden colony due to its government's controversial decisions on legalizing just about every crime in the book with the exception of anything related to murder. This was where she needed to be for the time being, to bring justice to this city as an Asari Justicar.

"I'll be on my way now, Samara. There's still more Bad Bloods out in the galaxy that I need to hunt down." Said Slade as he turned to leave with the morning sun rising above the horizon. Samara looked back at the corpse of Venom and pulled out the Yautja daggers that Slade stabbed into his claws.

"Slade, wait. What about these daggers?" Questioned Samara, wondering why he would leave them behind.

"Keep them, Samara. They're yours to own now." Slade responded before he started to run off into the early morning sun until he could no longer be seen by Samara's very eyes.

Samara never saw Slade again after that one night, but never did she forget it. She may not have had many possessions as an Asari Justicar, but she still held onto the Yautja daggers that Slade gave to her after they succeeded in killing the Bad Blood Venom. It was something that reminded her what the truth about evil and corruption was; that sometimes it's so hard to see and you can never know who could potentially betray you. That is exactly what her daughter Mornith had done before, and that is why Samara chose to become a Justicar.

* * *

Summer 2019 update: Spaced out everything, so now it is easier to read.


End file.
